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[RECOMMEND ON] ~$500 windows tablet edition

ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito!Registered User regular
HEY H/A~~~

Your friendly neighborhood bug scientist is here!

As the resident "tech guy" in my family, I've been conscripted to help my mother pick out a new laptop.

However, I think she should get a tablet, for a lot of reasons- they are lighter (she has arthritis), more portable, and generally more "user friendly" than a computer.

I'm thinking about recommending her this one, but what do you guys think?

She's looking to use it mostly for web browsing and light document editing/learning how to use office products

I figure a Windows 8 tablet with Office 365 would be a better buy than a laptop of similar price...but I'm not sure!

Are ~$500 tablets worth doing office work on? Should I instead recommend her some cheap laptop?

THANKS GUYS

Posts

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    For around that price you could get a refurbished Surface Pro which is a fairly beefy computer with "real" Windows and the ability to run tablet RT apps as well. Plus effectively a wacom tablet built in.

    Refurbished is an issue though.

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  • Bendery It Like BeckhamBendery It Like Beckham Hopeless Registered User regular
    For around that price you could get a refurbished Surface Pro which is a fairly beefy computer with "real" Windows and the ability to run tablet RT apps as well. Plus effectively a wacom tablet built in.

    Refurbished is an issue though.

    This here, or go with a surface RT. The lenovos with the atom processors operate at a crawl and have difficulty even with youtube.

  • MushroomStickMushroomStick Registered User regular
    Surface RTs suck, there's a reason they had to fire sale them off. The pros are great though. Get a Type cover to go with it.

  • LankyseanLankysean Registered User regular
    I have a Toshiba WT8 which is an 8 inch Windows 8 pro tablet. It's not bad but I would say that the screen is a bit too small for serious work. I would recommend something with at least a 10 inch screen.

  • jjae2123jjae2123 Registered User regular
    We have a surface pro and a surface RT in our house, I think either would fit your needs tbh.

  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    For around that price you could get a refurbished Surface Pro which is a fairly beefy computer with "real" Windows and the ability to run tablet RT apps as well. Plus effectively a wacom tablet built in.

    Refurbished is an issue though.

    A lot of these suggestions are good, thanks guys!

    I'm leery of getting a refurb though- it isn't for myself, it's for my mom and I'm just a bit nervous (plus she is too picky to go in for a 'used' computer).

  • KyouguKyougu Registered User regular
    I would second the ASUS or one that comes with some sort of keyboard if you're mom is going to be doing any sort of doc/office work.

    Maybe it's a personal thing, but I don't enjoy using my tablet to type anything very long.

  • GrisloGrislo Registered User regular
    If it's going to be her primary computer / what she'll use for office work and stuff like that, I'd seriously consider a laptop.

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  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    edited February 2014
    I've heard good things about the Dell Venue 8 Pro, especially now that Bay Trail is finally out. I've also played with the Asus T100, and it's really solid, plus it can be used as a laptop or a tablet as needed. There's the 11 inch ZenBook as well, if she really wants a laptop.

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  • BrewBrew Registered User regular
    One thing I would say is do NOT get her a Dell Venue 11 Pro. I've had that for a while now and had nothing but issues, which is a shame because the hardware looks great. Maybe they'll get it straightened out in a month or two.

    How big a laptop/tablet are we talking about here though? Is an 8 inch tablet too small for her? It's not really a right format for any kind of content creation.

    What about a Dell XPS 12 or a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13? Those are convertible laptops. They don't separate the keyboard portion from the tablet but both fold in a way that makes it a pseudo tablet for content consumption.

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  • Evil_ReaverEvil_Reaver Registered User regular
    I've heard good things about the Dell Venue 8 Pro, especially now that Bay Trail is finally out. I've also played with the Asus T100, and it's really solid, plus it can be used as a laptop or a tablet as needed. There's the 11 inch ZenBook as well, if she really wants a laptop.

    My wife has been using a Dell Venue 8 Pro (64GB) for a few weeks and she's totally sold on it. We are nearly a 100% Apple ecosystem household but one of my IT bros at work let her play with his DV8P and she loved it. It has the full version of Windows 8.1 and it comes with Office 2013 Student Edition. We bought it open box at Microcenter for $200.

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